The study of biomolecules for biotechnology applications has gained widespread interest in recent years and potentially offers utilization of self-assembly and molecular recognition to develop and integrate advanced biotechnological materials into the medical and high-technology industries. The ability of biomolecules to direct the growth and organization of inorganic solids has been noticed in naturally-occurring biomineralization systems. (E. Baeuerlein, Biomineralization: From Biology to Biotechnology and Medical Application, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, New York, 2000. S. Mann, Biomineralization: Principles and Concepts in Bioinorganic Materials Chemistry, Oxford chemistry masters, 5, Oxford University Press, Oxford, N.Y., 2001.) Natural biological systems have evolved diverse structures, e.g., bones, teeth, mollusk shells and magnetosomes, which exhibit greatly increased structural integrity compared to the organic scaffold from which they are formed. Natural systems can show exquisite control on the molecular scale, and biomineralized materials can surpass their chemically synthesized counterparts in certain physical characteristics such as hardness, fracture resistance, and abrasion resistance. Certain advantages of biomineralizing systems can include spatial and temporal control over growth, remodeling mechanisms, and synthesis of mineral phases not otherwise possible at low temperature and pressure. (S. Weiner and L. Addadi, “Design strategies in ineralized biological materials,” J. of Materials Chem., Vol. 7 (1997) pp. 689-702.)
One step toward emulating natural biomineralizing systems is to develop and identify certain biomolecules which can interact with, e.g., bind with, reversibly bind with, non-natural inorganic materials. In a controlled, laboratory environment, such biomolecules can be useful for the development of advanced biotechnological materials and systems.